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These genius pantry hacks make the best Worcestershire sauce substitute with ingredients you already have on hand. They taste remarkably like the real thing!
Ever been midway through making a recipe only to find you’re completely out of Worcestershire sauce? It’s happened to me more times than I’d like to admit! After years of recipe testing and cookbook writing, I’ve developed a few foolproof Worcestershire sauce substitutes that have saved many meals in my kitchen. The first one is my favorite, and doubles as a vegan Worcestershire sauce!
Worcestershire sauce is a common condiment that adds savory and complex flavors to dishes from Caesar dressing to chili to the classic Bloody Mary. It was invented in Britain in the mid-1800s. Its flavor is tangy, salty, sweet, savory, and a little funky all at once! Traditional Worcestershire contains fermented anchovies, which gives it that distinctive umami quality—but also means it’s not vegetarian or vegan.
And if you’ve ever wondered how to pronounce it — it’s “wusster-shir” sauce!
Best Worcestershire sauce substitutes
1. Soy sauce, ketchup, and white wine vinegar
This is my go-to Worcestershire sauce substitute that I’ve perfected over years of recipe testing. The combination creates a remarkably similar flavor to the original, balancing all the key flavors: umami, tanginess, sweetness, and a hint of spice.
For 1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce:
- 1 tablespoon ketchup
- 1 tablespoon white wine vinegar
- ½ tablespoon soy sauce (or tamari or coconut aminos)
- 1 dash hot sauce (optional)
If you have it, hot sauce adds a bit of the spice that Worcestershire sauce brings from chili extract. You could even add a dash of fish sauce, but it’s not needed. Use tamari (gluten-free) or coconut aminos (gluten-free and soy-free) as soy sauce substitutes.
2. Soy sauce or vinegar
If you’re in a real pinch and don’t have ketchup on hand, this simplified version works well, too. Worcestershire sauce is primarily salty and tangy, so this combination hits those two main flavor notes.
- For 1 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce, use ½ teaspoon soy sauce and ½ teaspoon rice vinegar.
- If you have it, stir in ½ teaspoon miso paste until it dissolves to add flavor complexity.
3. Fish sauce
Fish sauce is a condiment made from fermented fish that’s used often in Southeast Asian cuisine, like the food of Thailand, Cambodia, Laos, Burma, and Vietnam. It’s got a funky, tangy, and salty flavor that works as a 1:1 replacement for Worcestershire sauce. However, Worcestershire sauce tastes sweeter and has more notes of onion and garlic, so you could add a hint of sugar and onion or garlic powder if desired.
4. A1 sauce
A1 sauce is a condiment that’s typically used as a steak sauce. It’s a great Worcestershire sauce alternative if you have it on hand since the flavor profiles are very similar, though A1 sauce is thicker in texture. It’s made with tomato puree, raisin paste, vinegar, orange puree, garlic, and onions.
5. Balsamic vinegar and tamarind paste
This combination works particularly well in recipes that call for a more complex flavor profile. The aged balsamic provides sweetness and acidity, while tamarind delivers a fruity tang. Again, adding a pinch of onion powder and garlic powder can enhance the flavors.
For 1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce:
- 2 teaspoons balsamic vinegar
- 1 teaspoon tamarind paste
- Pinch of brown sugar
Frequently asked questions
Absolutely! I often mix up a small batch and keep it in the refrigerator for up to 2 weeks.
Yes! All of the substitutes listed above are vegan except for the fish sauce option.
The soy + ketchup + vinegar option is remarkably similar! In blind taste tests with Alex, this was the closest I got to the real thing.
Use coconut aminos instead of soy sauce in any of these substitutes.
Worcestershire Sauce Substitute (Genius Hack!)
It tastes just like the real thing! This genius hack makes the best Worcestershire sauce substitute with pantry ingredients you have on hand.
- Prep Time: 1 minute
- Cook Time: 0 minutes
- Total Time: 1 minute
- Yield: 2 ½ tablespoons 1x
- Category: Essentials
- Method: Mixed
- Cuisine: Vegan
- Diet: Vegan
Ingredients
- 1 tablespoon ketchup
- 1 tablespoon white wine vinegar (or ½ tablespoon white vinegar)
- ½ tablespoon soy sauce (or tamari or coconut aminos)
- 1 small dash hot sauce (optional)
Instructions
- Mix all ingredients together until smooth.
Related recipes
Here are some recipes where you could use this Worcestershire sauce substitute:
thanks!
I was making a Cottage pie but didn’t have any Worcestershire sauce so used the first method but used balsamic vinegar in place of wine vinegar, turned out perfectly! Thanks so much
Thanks for this recipe! I needed a Tbsp of sauce for a recipe and had all the ingredients. I used sugar-free ketchup. :)
To the rescue on Christmas Eve while making the Chex Mix–thought I had plenty (and guess what??!). Thanks!!!!!
Can this be substituted fir worcestershire sauce in Chex Mix?
We haven’t tried it, but it should work!
I have been looking for a substitution for Worcestershire Sauce for quite a while, as I could not find it here in Jerusalem. Unfortunately, it would not be Kosher for the more observant Jews as the original sauce contains fish, which the more observant to do not mix with meat and therefore would, most likely, not be certified Kosher.
In any event, I accidentally came across your recipe for Worcestershire Sauce (with either white wine vinegar or Balsalmic vinegar, I tried both ways. While, the white wine vinegar was good, the version with Balsalmic vinegar absolute HIT THE SPOT. Thank you.
So glad it worked for you! Thanks for the comment.
Such an easy and convenient substitute for Worcestershire!
Needed this in a pinch to make salisbury steak – worked wonderfully with items I readily had on hand.
Thanks for sharing!
This was magical, thank you!
There I was in the middle of making my yearly real Chex Mix, circa 2003, when I ran out of Worcestershire Sauce……URG and no time to run to the store. I did a internet query and up popped “A Couple Cooks” recipe. Everything was in my refrigerator/ pantry… the day was saved (this might be a little dramatic!!), and I could keep cooking. The end result was a little sweet, but I’m sure I would be the only one that would notice. Thanks “A Couple Cooks” and Happy New Year to all………
This totally worked… I didn’t have white wine vinegar but I did have rice vinegar. Will definently be using this in the future. Thanks! You saved tonight’s dinner 😅
Great substitute for Worcestershire! Actually tastes very similar. Thank you!
Love this! Especially because we travel full-time in an RV. We don’t use Worcestershire sauce enough to cart around a bottle with us. This recipe is the perfect solution! Thank you for sharing!
Simply amazing! I was skeptical as I measured and mixed, but delightfully surprised when I tasted the result! Was perfect in the recipe needing the Worcestershire, could not tell it wasn’t the bought bottled stuff!
Wow this turned out tasting amazing! I used a good amount of tobasco siracha and a dash of crystal hot sauce.
was thrilled to find this as I am allergic to all forms of fish, sea food, shell fish, fresh water fish and mushrooms there are a lot of sauces and stuff I have to be careful with for example even some brands of ranch dressing has anchovy paste. So to be able to find alternates that taste like the original are a blessing and hard to find ty
Great substitution. I added a little more soy to mine.
Super easy and did not change the dish at all.
Thank you, I saved a trip to the grocery store while making beef stew. Turned out awesome!
Pretty good substitute, and yes, I did use the dash of hot sauce 😃which gave it a little something something! Thank you for a quick and tasty recipe!
One word. F A B U L O U S
I was making a larger meatloaf (5lbs sirloin) got EVERYTHING except worshistire sauce🤦 Now worshistire sauce is literally that one ingredient that we ALWAYS have available🤷
Google must like your hack as well, bc here you are to save the day! Perfect. I LOVE it and I definitely subscribed! Truly Rockstars. So excited to find you guys & I’ll stay tuned 🥳